


The Dinner Date

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: These Women [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-29 01:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5110988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now, walking into his mid-40s he was more likely to go straight to the bar and not look at anyone.  The longer he kept himself to of the so-called game, the more difficult it became to navigate.  He wanted to be open and honest; he wanted to be himself.  Being himself usually meant being single.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dinner Date

“No,” Sam shook her head as she gave Rafael a sympathetic look. “I'm going to be there; I'm coming now. No I do not want Brianna touching anything. Seriously, keep her far away from everything. 

“Call Carole but I'm not sure she can come back because the baby has been sick. I should be there in less than a half hour. I know you didn’t, Jake, and I appreciate that. Yes, alright, bye.” She hung up her cell phone and looked at him. “I am so, so sorry.”

“What's going on?”

“IT meltdown at the office and one of the younger staffers, Brianna, who thinks she knows everything, has made it much worse. I need to go in and make sure that the entire network isn't fried to a crisp. Carole is the only one who’s better for it than me but she has a seven month old baby at home. This was not supposed to happen tonight.”

“Things like that are never supposed to happen.”

“I was so looking forward to meeting Trevor and spending an evening with a friend of yours.” Sam said. She took his hand and squeezed it.

“Well here he comes now, so we’ll at least get the two of you introduced.”

Rafael stood as Trevor approached their table. Morton’s Steakhouse wasn’t packed but it was crowded for a Wednesday evening. He was surprised when Rafael hugged him, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. That was something the ADA had never done in public and never in front of a woman. Trevor brushed off his shock, smiling at Sam as he sat.

“Trevor Langan, this is Samantha Hoffman.” Rafael said.

“It’s great to finally meet you.” Sam shook his hand. “I hate to do this but I actually have to go. There was a meltdown at my office and they need me back to fix it.”

“I knew it.” Trevor smiled. “It usually takes about this long for Rafael to drive a beautiful woman away.”

“You're so funny and yet I never laugh.” The ADA had a straight face.

“He hasn’t managed to drive me away yet.” Sam smiled. “I really wish I could stay because I've been looking forward to this for a week.”

“Maybe it won't be so bad and you can come back and join us.” Rafael said.

“Oh, I hope and wish.” Sam stood, grabbing her bag from the floor by her feet. “I will call you as soon as I know what the real status is.” She leaned to kiss Rafael, doing it twice. “Trevor, it was great to meet you. I'm going to leave you in very capable hands and hope we can do this again sometime. I'm sorry.”

“It’s OK.” Trevor nodded. “I look forward to a better evening sooner rather than later.”

Smiling, Sam walked away from the table and toward the exit. Rafael watched her go. He didn’t want to complain as work had him keeping the strangest hours lately, but this was the second time her work interrupted a date. Just last week Sam had to reschedule this dinner because she had potential investors coming into town last minute and she wanted to show them New York. It was last minute but Rafael understood that. 

While Girls First did get a small stipend yearly from the state of New York, much of their money came from donations and fundraising. One would be foolish to turn down a potential patron with deep pockets for a night on the town with the boyfriend. Tonight though…why couldn’t someone else handle a network meltdown? What was the point of having efficient staff if everything fell into your lap anyway? Sam was stressed. 

She loved her job but she was stressed and needed this night off. It was a three day weekend and her daughters were with her ex so Rafael intended to spoil her. Saturday would be spent in his condo together without the world invading, Sunday would be long walks and a trip to the Guggenheim, and Monday they would spend the first half of the day resting together to prepare for another week. The shorter ones always felt longer than average. It was important to the couple to spend more time together, as a couple, and just figure out where they were and if they wanted to continue being there. Both wanted to push the work excuse aside and do this.

“She's beautiful.” Trevor said.

“I sent you a picture.”

“It didn’t do her justice. Most of the times photographs don’t.”

The server returned, asking were they now a party of two. Rafael nodded. Now he was on a date with Trevor; it had been years. Trevor ordered a screwdriver and the calamari appetizer.

“First we had to totally reschedule last week, and now this.” Rafael said. “I have no faith in her staff to do anything when she's not around.”

“What better way to stay on top than to be indispensable?” Trevor mused.

“Being indispensable doesn’t make it easy to have a social life.”

“Rafi, you don’t have a social life.”

“I'm trying.” He sighed and sipped his scotch.

“How long have you two been dating?”

“Eight months. It’s been casual, and nice, but I think we’re about to reach that plateau.”

“Jump or run.” Trevor said.

“Pretty much.” The ADA nodded.

“Are your sneakers tied?”

“I think that’s mean.”

“I'm just asking a question.”

“I like Samantha; I really like her.”

“OK. Tell me what that means, Rafael. You invited me here to meet a woman that you like. What's that mean?”

“I wanted Samantha to be here to show you that herself. She's smart and dedicated. She makes me laugh, has a very witty way about her. Her red hair is a turn on.”

“It so often comes back to the Lee Remick factor with you and women.” Trevor said.

“You oversimplify me.” Rafael complained. “And do not say you call them like you see them…don’t say it Trevor.”

“Tell me more about Samantha.”

“I want you to get to know her. I don't know why but I think you two might really get along. It would be nice if we started to become part of each other lives. Isn't that what people in relationships do?”

“You’ve been in relationships before, you tell me.”

“But I haven’t.” Rafael shook his head. “Well, you know what I mean. I have but I don’t know how to do this. I can like someone, I can sleep with someone, I can eat and engage and maybe even meet someone’s kids if it comes to that but I don’t know if I can be a part of someone’s life.”

“You were a part of my life.” Trevor said.

“It wasn’t easy and I failed. I loved you…love you.”

“You don’t have to clarify Rafi, I get it. It’s OK that you don’t love Samantha; you’ve only known her for eight months. We’re all in our 40s, right? Some on one side and some on the other. Most of us have had our share of what we wanted to or what turned out to be long term relationships.” 

Trevor drank the screwdriver now in front of him. “You’ve had a couple as well but have trouble sharing some parts of yourself. Be honest. You are who you are. If someone is going to love you, they accept that. But they can't do that if you don’t talk to them.”

“I don’t know if I want to meet her kids.”

The server returned with the appetizers and interrupted the conversation. Since Rafael was hungry, he wouldn’t complain about it. He ordered the New York strip steak, medium, with the scallops in hollandaise. Trevor wanted the jumbo lump crab cakes along with bacon wrapped scallops. For side dishes they chose the grilled asparagus and the twice baked au gratin potatoes.

“Do you want to do the sour cream mashed potatoes as well?” Trevor asked.

“I usually like to leave room for dessert.” Rafael replied.

“And I prefer to overindulge on dinner.”

“If you want the mashed potatoes, have them. Viva la overindulgence.”

Trevor nodded, telling the server that they wanted the sour cream mashed potatoes as well. Now was the time to be thankful for his gym membership. His genes kept him from adding too much weight to his 6’ 5” frame but the older one got, the more they had to work on their bodies. This wasn’t like the old days when he and Rafael spent at least two days a week out overindulging. This was a treat.

“So you're afraid of her kids?” Trevor jumped back into the conversation.

“Afraid is a strong word; I don’t even know them. I'm sure they're wonderful girls but I don’t know if I…help me out.”

“No, you tell me.”

“I don’t think I want to be a stepfather. There, I said it, it’s out, OK?”

“That’s not a crime, Rafael. You don’t have to blurt it out as if it is.”

“Sometimes I think about it and I get mad at her for having kids. What kind of ridiculous thing is that? Sam is a good mom. She shows me pictures of adventures she takes her girls on and they look as if they're all having the time of their lives. 

“She's a 44 year old divorcee, it would make sense that she have children. It’s just an uncomfortable situation for me to put myself in. Here I am knowing that opening up to someone and sharing myself is hard. And to add to that, there are two more people I have to think about.”

“Yeah.” Trevor nodded. “Kids aren’t easy. And when you're dealing with divorce and children, even though you told me Sam has been divorced for a while, you don’t know what you're walking into. Talk to her about it.”

“How?” Rafael asked.

“I don't know.” 

“You don’t know? I thought you knew everything, Mr. Langan. You've never dated a woman with kids?”

“I don’t date a lot of women.” Trevor smirked. “I like women but, I don't know, the older I get the more comfortable I feel with men. At least emotionally. I'm still sexually attracted to women, I still enjoy their company, maybe something more casual…”

Rafael understood what Trevor was trying to say. He didn’t walk into a room full of people and tell himself he would only pursue women. He had done that for years and didn’t like the way it made him feel. So he kept an open mind, just had a good look at everyone around him. It was how he and Trevor ended up together. 

Now, walking into his mid-40s he was more likely to go straight to the bar and not look at anyone. The longer he kept himself out of the so-called game, the more difficult it became to navigate. He wanted to be open and honest; he wanted to be himself. Being himself usually meant being single. His relationship with Sam was good so far, he didn’t want it to change. But everything changed. Relationships evolved, and if one person couldn’t evolve with them then they usually ended. 

“Subject change, have you seen Noah lately?”

“I was there on Tuesday for the last scheduled visit with the social worker. We have a status hearing with Judge Linden on Tuesday afternoon.”

“I couldn’t believe when Liv decided to foster.” Rafael said. “Not that I doubted that she would be good at it, she's an amazing mother. I just wondered how she would handle that and all the work at the NYPD. As usual, she's excellent.”

“Yeah.” Trevor nodded and sipped his drink. “I was really surprised when Judge Holden asked her to foster but I didn’t object. Liv is good with kids and it’s easy to see how attached she is to Noah already.”

“You don’t think there's going to be anything to stop this adoption from happening?”

“We’re still in the process of looking for acceptable family members. Ellie didn’t have a lot of family so it hasn’t been easy. But that’s why the judge made the process last a year. It gives anyone else a chance to step up to care for him. I'm a firm believer that no one could or would do a better job than Olivia. I'm here to fight for her as well as Noah.”

“I feel better knowing you're in her corner.” Rafael said. “There's been a few bumps in the process but I don’t want social services to take him away.”

“Social services is such BS sometimes.” Trevor rolled his eyes. “They watch Olivia like a hawk, scrutinize her every move, but they let Noah stay with a family for three months that ignored his bodily injuries and illnesses.”

Rafael nodded. The server returned with dinner and both men smiled. It smelled lovely and he wished that Sam was there to share it with them. He was sure she would’ve made Trevor laugh, kept the conversation interesting. She would’ve been inquisitive and surely tried to find out as much as she could about their friendship. Rafael was attracted to as well as feared her curiosity. When Sam wanted to know something, she pushed until she knew.

“Have Sam and Olivia met?” Trevor asked, cutting into his crab cake.

“Oh Sam loves Olivia. Sometimes I think she likes her more than she does me.” He smiled. “She interviewed her a couple of months ago for her e-magazine and I know she's been talking about them having brunch. When I told her that Olivia was fostering a little boy, Sam was so happy…over the moon. At first I was worried, sometimes girlfriends will become friendly with a female friend of the guy they're dating to make sure nothing is going on between them. Both Sam and Liv seem comfortable with each other.”

“Are you comfortable with their possible friendship?”

“Sure.”

He didn’t quite sound that way but Trevor wasn’t going to push. He was going to enjoy his dinner. This was better than spending the evening at work. It had been too long since he and Rafael had gotten together, he was surprised that his old friend wanted him to meet and get to know the new woman in his life. No matter how well they knew each other, and Trevor thought he might know him better than almost anyone, Rafael still made attempts to keep things hidden. 

One of those things was his obvious feelings for Olivia Benson. He never once made mention of her to Trevor in anything other than a friendship way. But Trevor knew better. He knew what Rafael was like when he had those feelings. Liv had been seeing someone for a while, another cop, then she was single again and dealing with the aftermath of being brutalized by a psychopath. 

Now she was devoting all of her time to being a cop and a foster mom. Rafael was afraid to meet Sam’s kids but raved about Liv and Noah. It was probably something he didn’t even know he was doing. Trevor could’ve pointed it out, playfully teasing was one of his things. Something in him told him that now was not the right time.

“I just got a text from Sam.” Rafael held up his phone. “She's going to be a while.”

“Do you want to get drunk and forget we’re just friends?”

The assistant district attorney laughed. It wouldn’t be the first time but it had been a while. He put his hand over Trevor’s on the table and then signaled to the server that he wanted another scotch.

***

“Hey there.” Sam looked up from her laptop and smiled.

“Hello, beautiful.” Rafael smiled as he leaned, arms crossed, on the doorframe of her office. There were still two or three staffers running around but the place was mostly deserted. “I'm taking you home and we’re not going to argue about it.”

“Just give me 15 minutes or so.” Sam held up her hand. “No argument but I'm doing a systems check and they can take a while. We lost a few things but I know Carole has a lot backed up at home so I'm not super worried. I'm firing Brianna on Tuesday.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.” He walked into the office.

“Can you close the door?”

Rafael nodded and closed the door. Then he sat in the plush chair across from her desk. He had only been in Sam’s office once but he loved the décor. She had large picture windows looking out on Midtown Manhattan and a little further down to Times Square. Her walls were maroon and white, most of her furniture was black leather. She had what looked to be an antique cherry oak desk and credenza, she told him that it had once been her father’s. Right now there were aromatherapy candles lit, Schubert played quietly from an iHome, and Sam wasn’t wearing any shoes.

“I'm thinking a lot of deep, cleansing breaths took place tonight.” Rafael said.

“You have no idea. I'm going to smoke this clove. It’s going to be my second clove since I got here, and you're not going to give me trouble about it. Are we good?”

“We’re good.” He nodded.

“It was a disaster.” Sam rolled her eyes as she lit the clove. “I had Carole on the phone walking me through things and we were definitely attacked. The source was two emails, and we know they were opened by Brianna. We have a strict policy against opening things that aren’t recognized because we’ve been attacked before. Everything started shutting down pretty quickly in an attempt to wipe our network clean. You would’ve thought I had three hands trying to save things and fight the malware. I could have carpal tunnel syndrome.”

“Did you save everything?” Rafael asked.

“No, but as I said, I know we have lots of things backed up on zip disks and flash drives. I'm going to let the system reinstall and massive scan finish but on Tuesday I’ll call our contractor IT people and have the entire network redone. It’s a bad idea to continue working on a compromised system. We have to build one that’s better and stronger.”

“How do you do all that you do?”

“Can I be honest with you?” Sam asked. “I cried three times since I've been here. Pure tears of anger and frustration. I didn’t let it stop me though. I was also lying…this is my third clove since I got here.”

“You’re done with cloves for the night.”

“Yes Counselor.” She smiled.

“After this, our three day weekend must sound very appealing to you.” He said.

Sam could’ve sat at home all week relaxing and watching TV and their three day weekend would’ve been appealing. She was hopeful that Rafael would want to take her away but finding things to do in the city was also easy and fun. Spending the entire day with him tomorrow was what made Sam happy. She wanted to talk. 

They had both been so busy; it was hard to remember the last time they had a nice conversation. Rafael didn’t need to sit down and dump his whole life in her lap but she enjoyed talking to him. She liked making him laugh and his teasing tones. While she did plan to use it to crack the door and get a little more information, just the talking would be a good thing.

“I can't wait.” Sam let out a happy sigh. “After a big fight, I was able to take the girls to The Hamptons to spend a long weekend with some college friends. We had such a good time…it was the perfect way to end the summer. I know you can't have it all but I want this weekend to be perfect too. We kind of deserve it.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.”

Rafael’s cell phone rang so he grabbed it from his pocket. As soon as he saw who was calling, he didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Good evening, Sergeant Benson.” He said.

“Hey. I wasn’t sure what you had planned this weekend but Noah and I are heading out to the International Kite Festival in Morningside Heights on Sunday if you're interested.”

“That sounds great but I have plans.”

“Oh, OK. Are you going to be with Sam?” Liv asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes. We are going off the grid and spending some time together as a couple.” He held the phone away from his ear for a moment. “Sam, its Liv.”

“Ooh, let me say hi.” Sam put out her clove and came to sit on Rafael’s lap. “Hi Liv.”

“Hi Sam, you're finally getting him to take you away?”

“Not quite but a little quality time will be nice. If I can still tolerate him after three days together, this thing might have wings.”

“I'm right here.” Rafael smiled, putting his arm around Sam’s waist.

“Have a great time.” Liv said.

“I want you to have a good weekend too. Are you off all three days?”

“I am. Noah and I are going to spend some quality time enjoying autumn in New York.”

“Take plenty of pictures; they're only this small once. Everything fascinates them and it’s a sight to behold.”

“I know. I think I might be more fascinated with his fascination than anything else.” Liv said.

“Definitely. OK, I'm giving Rafael back the phone…he's pouting. Bye Liv.”

“Bye Sam. Counselor?”

“Yes, I'm here.”

“Have a good weekend OK? We’ll compare notes on Tuesday.”

“Lunch?” Rafael asked.

“A late lunch, I have something in the afternoon.”

“Alright, I’ll see you then.”

Rafael ended the phone call. He sighed, pressing his lips to the center of Sam’s back. She rubbed the hand resting on her stomach.

“Penny for your thoughts.” She said.

“I'm a little afraid of your powers combined.” He said.

“We’ll go easy on you.”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey,” Sam turned to look at him. “I really like Liv, I do. And I promise you that even though you're the reason we know each other, you are not the center of our universe. We totally pass the Bechtel test. OK?”

“OK.” He still wasn’t sure but Rafael put on a smile. It was more genuine after Sam kissed him. She tasted like vanilla. He kissed her once more and then wanted to get out of there.

Sam got up and went to check her laptop. The system reinstall and scan was finished. There were still a couple of pop-up problems but she didn’t think another meltdown was coming. She hoped not at least. It was time to shut down and go home, there was nothing more she could do tonight.

“We should walk to your place from here, it’s only a mile and some change.”

“It’s the change I'm worried about.” Rafael said. “It was drizzling when I got here.”

“I've got my big umbrella and my flat shoes…we should do it.”

“I'm game if you are.” He smiled.

“And you can tell me all about dinner with Trevor.” Sam grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair and her bag from the credenza. She turned off the music, walking around the office and blowing out candles. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“I did. We don’t see each other enough. He's a good friend.”

“I hope the next time we make plans they don’t fall through. I felt so uncomfortable leaving tonight…it was the second time I bowed out on this. I didn’t want Trevor thinking it was him.”

“His vanity would never allow for something like that.” Rafael smiled. He stood, holding out his hand. “Shall we?”

“Yes we shall.”

Sam took his hand and they walked out of the office and to the elevator. Down twelve floors, Sam signed out and they left the building. The rain was falling steadier now but not too hard. She handed the umbrella to Rafael and then slipped her arm around his waist. She loved walking in New York. 

Growing up in another major walking city, Toronto, Samantha was a duel citizen of the U.S. and Canada. Even though she’d gone to Vassar for college, she was never sure about staying stateside. She went back to Toronto for graduate school and it was a job offer in New York that brought her back. When she lived in the Big Apple for a year, she knew she found her home. 

It could be gritty, crowded, and a little insane but that was part of its charm. She'd recently thought about moving to Brooklyn with nice home prices and more space for the girls to live and grow. The decision was one that Sam didn’t want to make without a lot of thought. Manhattan was her place, her home, but she was thinking about it.

“Three whole days, huh?” she leaned on his shoulder when they stopped at a red light.

“Three whole days. I even have a decent amount of food in my house right now.”

“That’s good because I didn’t have dinner.”

“Oh Hoffman, what am I going to do with you?”

“I have a few ideas; I can whisper them in your ear.”

“You need to eat.” Rafael said as he laughed. “I can whip you up something that will most likely be edible.”

“I’ll take it. I want to see you work your way around a kitchen. You'll be a triple threat.”

“Triple threat?” he glanced at her.

“Mmm hmm. Courtroom, bedroom, and kitchen. Be careful Rafael, women like to marry men like that.”

“I wouldn’t want you getting any ideas where that’s concerned.” He said. 

He wanted to keep it light but Rafael didn’t really think marriage was for him. Since he was also uncomfortable with her two daughters, even though he hadn’t met them yet, it was probably better for that conversation to not be a major topic this weekend. One thing he knew he would do is swallow his fear and meet the girls. Rafael was sure they would be cordial and well behaved. That didn’t mean that he would suddenly be struck with overwhelming paternal urges and want to be a stepfather to them. Mental gymnastics with Peter Hoffman wasn’t how he wanted to spend his time. He engaged with enough douches daily at Centre Street and Hogan Plaza.

“Oh I have ideas about everything.” Sam said. “You should know that about me by now.”

“I do.” he kissed her temple. “I really, really do. I'm glad we’re going to have this weekend. It’s a welcome respite from network meltdowns and Alford pleas.”

“I hope you're going to tell me the Alford plea story. I've always wanted to know just how that works. I saw it on Law and Order once.”

“I bet I'm not going to be as riveting as Sam Waterston.” Rafael said.

“Well sweetie, no one is as riveting as Sam Waterston. It'd be cruel to hold that against you.”

“We’re going to cross this street and I'm going to kiss you. You might wonder why but it’s just because.”

Sam put her arms around him as they shared a sweet, passionate kiss. This was what she wanted. It might seem idealistic, walking home in the rain and kissing on wet sidewalks. It was something right out of a movie starring Cary Grant. But the shivers that went through her had nothing to do with the chilly October night. 

Rafael made her feel that way and it was a nice feeling. This weekend she would focus on making him feel the same. Sam knew that this was their time and wanted to make sure that she got it right. She liked this relationship and wanted to see it progress. If that wasn’t going to happen it wouldn’t be because she didn’t put all she had into it.

***


End file.
